April 30, 2011

The coming attractions for that episode show Alicia and Peter in an apartment filled with boxes. Alicia tells Peter that's where he is going to live from now on and all his things have already been moved in. Alicia also confronts Kalinda, telling her that she knows the she Kalinda, her best friend, slept with her husband Peter.

The Executive Communications beast is not only stirring. It has fully awakened after going to sleep in the beginning of the 21st century. After Enron, executives went low-profile. Then came the 9/11-induced recession.

Well, this opportunity is with the State of Michigan. Those applying need, in addition to speechwriting experience, skills in media. Here are more details and how to apply.

Anyone working in media is bound to go through serial upheaval. AOL, when it joined with HuffingtonPost, laid off in triple digits. Now THE BOSTON GLOBE employees are likely wondering how things will shake out for them.

Casey Ross of THE BOSTON GLOBE reports, "A Wellesley businessman [Aaron Kushner] is preparing to offer more than $200 million to buy THE BOSTON GLOBE from its longtime owner, The New York Times, according to a person briefed on the plan."

It was THE BOSTON GLOBE which broke the story on sexual molestation of young boys by Roman Catholic priests.

Executive Communications is coming back, at least in terms of full-time jobs. This one, based in New York City, requires experience in aviation and technology related to working with the Department of Defense. Here are details.

The person who is hired will hopefully think of me for contract assignments [mgenova981@aol.com.]

April 28, 2011

Even at AOL, the shaky edifice built on page views, more folks are talking Engagement. That represents an old-fashioned return to branding or the relationship created with the consumer, client, voter, or donor. U.S. House Speaker John Boehner is being dumped on because he can't engage with his championing of the Defense of Marriage Act, reports POLITICO.

If Barack Obama wants to be re-elected he will have to shift his focus from the pile-on of social media, be it his tweets or email orations, to what engages.

Bill Clinton had that down cold. Wounded, his mirror neurons were all revved up to connect with our pain. Through trial and error, Hillary Clinton learned to engage through her fierce intelligence and self-control. On "Mad Men," Sally Draper, tormented daughter of tormented Don, masters self-control and is emerging as the most engaging character on that show.

Donald Trump engages through a total lack of self-consciousness and, like Ronald Reagan, an intuitive feel for performance art. For years, Oprah could engage until that persona became merely stylized. She can't seem to grab hold of that ability again.

Those in the public affairs industry could engage prospects and current clients if they opine on the New Engagement. For instance, they could deconstruct the emerging candidates, on all sides, and make brilliant suggestions on how they can be more engaging. Tweeting, podcasting, YouTubing, blogging, and meeting by the Wall at Facebook are, as without an engagement strategy, so yesterday.

Because I'm tweeting on the royal wedding [like who isn't], I received a notice that HRH Prince Harry is following my tweeting. Well, Prince Harry's twitter site is @HarryWalesUncut. It has 7 tweets, 1082 following, and 118 followers. The most recent tweet observes that Kate [Middleton] is in trouble for trying on mum's crown.

This could be one of the best out-of-the-box parts of the royal wedding. The other part are the mugs put out there by Guangdong Enterprises. On them is the text "The fairytale romantic union of all centuries." The faces on it are of Kate Middleton and Prince Harry. Lauren Collins reports this tidbit in THE NEW YORKER.

April 27, 2011

The answer seems to be that it's an evolving kind of long-form journalism. Yeah, put together some essays or blogs, write and write until it "feels" like a book, and/or create something bookish but only shorter.

As Matthew Ingram notes in the BLOOMBERG BUSINESS WEEK coverage, authors can make plenty of money in this chaos. For example, Amanda Hocking earned $2 million by self-publishing 12 fiction books for the tween and teen markets. Meanwhile, traditional authors, editors, and publishers seem like deer caught in the headlights.

Brand Windsor is certainly getting a shot of fresh attention. Two billion will watch the royal wedding. A billion dollars will flow in as revenues. That's just direct revenue. No one is factoring in the boost to the travel industry.

And in a world which never thought it could smile again after the financial crash has become giddy. In THE NEW YORKER, Lauren Collins reports that Guangdong Enterprises has on the market a mug to honor "the fairytale romantic union of all centuries." The mug features Kate Middleton and Prince Harry.

Our mirror neurons or that part of our wiring which is the platform for human empathy are not working overtime on this one. According to Jeff Bercovici in FORBES, 8000 unpaid bloggers are being recruited by Huffington's hyper-local Patch. That's despite the lawsuit already filed for the 9000 unpaid bloggers who were toiling in the vineyard before Arianna Huffington cashed out to AOL.

To make a living wage, writers have to embrace the reality that there's a glut out there of us who relish reporting on fun stuff like the best ice cream in Fairfield County, Connecticut. Sure, we can cover those weighty matters, as a hobby.

The professional part of writing - and that means "paid" - entails developing a niche expertise. Back in 2005, I began putting together credentials in legal and regulatory writing. Today, my syndicated blog http://lawandmore.typepad.com is housed in the Library of Congress. Download LibraryofCongress. Monday, I begin a telecommuting Managing Editor position for a publication dealing with consumer rights. I am phasing into being the legal communications consultant for an ad/public relations agency which is developing a core competence in serving mid-sized law firms. I am talking to a publication in China about covering stories which have a legal component.

Yes, I had craved the heady experience of 500,000 sets of eyeballs focused on my opining and leaving detailed comments. I was blessed. I did have that for 13 weeks when I worked as a contract blogger for AOL. What I learned is that those 15 minutes of fame don't come emotionally cheap. As the gig went on I steadily eroded in key areas of well-being.

That was not AOL's fault. It's the nature of the high-profile game. But, unlike the lion's share of the merged AOL-Huffington bloggers, I was paid.